Method for making sweets



Aug. 1962 c. J WARREN ETAL 3,048,128

METHOD FOR MAKING SWEETS Filed March 10, 1955 6 H w 6 \u M w w i 1% www 8 AH. H y E United States Patent 3,048,128 METHOD FOR MAKING SWEETS Christopher John Lewis Warren, 20 Oakdene Road, and John William Milross, 27 Clyston Road, Holywell Estates, both of Watford, England Filed Mar. 10, 1955, Ser. No. 493,347 2 Claims. (Cl. 10754) The present invention relates to a method of and apparatus for depositing pre-determined quantities of hot viscous sugar-confectionery syrup, videlicet, toffee syrup such as butterscotch syrup, sugar-confectionery boilings and the like syrups which have been heated to or above a small crack degree of at least 280 degrees, hereinafter and in the claiming clauses hereof called viscous sugarconfectionery syrup.

Considerable difliculty accompanies the depositing of predetermined quantities of such syrups by means of machinery or by means of methods utilizing machinery. The viscous sugar-confectionery is, in consequence, usually made in strips and shaped by roller or other dies, but there is a need for a method whereby viscous sugar-confectionery syrup can be extruded mechanically in pre-determined quantities, e.g., onto flat slabs or onto shaping molds. The present invention has for one of its objects the provision of such a method whereby viscous sugarconfectionery syrup can be satisfactorily extruded mechanically in pre-deterrnined quantities.

According to our invention viscous sugar-confectionery syrup is charged into a heated container to a level suficient to submerge an entry port or entry ports in the cylinder wall of a plunger-cylinder pump having a discharge valve outside the container and the plunger is reciprocated relatively to the cylinder in such manner that on each suction stroke of the plunger a partial vacuum is first formed in the cylinder and the inner end or ends of the said entry port or ports is or are then uncovered by the plunger and viscous sugar-confectionery syrup is thereby caused to flow from the container into the partially evacuated cylinder and on each discharge stroke of the plunger the inner end or ends of the said entry port or ports is or are covered by the plunger and viscous sugar-confectionery is forced under pressure by the plunger from the cylinder through the said discharge valve, the said port or ports and the said plunger co-operating to perform the function of an inlet valve or valves.

We have found that with the method according to our invention it is unnecessary to equip the plunger of the plunger-cylinder pump with packing glands as the viscous sugar-confectionery syrup provides the requisite sealing between the plunger and the cylinder, indeed, the said scaling is so effective that a clearance fit may be used between the plunger.and the cylinder Wall as compared with the sliding fit which is normal in piston-cylinder type pumps in which the piston is fitted with packing glands or rings. The cylinder is preferably fixed to or relatively to the container. Each container may contain more than one plunger-cylinder pump.

The discharge valve may be a spring-loaded ball or cone valve. The viscous sugar-confectionery syrup may be relied upon to keep the valve region sufficiently hot to enable the valve to be effectively sealed, the more so the faster the pump runs, but means, e.g., an electrical resistance heater, may be provided for heating this region.

We prefer to give the plunger a slow discharging stroke and a relatively rapid suction stroke. This may be achieved by employing a suitably shaped cam to control the movements of the plunger.

Advantageously the cylinder extends through the b ttom of the heated container containing the viscous sugarconfectionery syrup and the inlet port or ports are located at or near the bottom of the said container. The bottom of the container may be heated (e.g., by an oil jacket or by an independent electricalresistance heater), and the side wall or Walls thereof may also be heated, e.g., by jacketing. Alternatively, or additionally the side walls or the heating means or both may be lagged.

The method may be carried out by using a battery of pumps since these can be kept to an external cylinder diameter, for instance, of one inch or less, and these pumps or at least their inlet ports may be submerged in the viscous sugar-confectionery syrup in a common container, so that, for example, a transverse row of such pumps may be used to extrude measured quantities of the said syrup into rows of molds, the molds or the container being intermittently advanced so that rows of molds may be successively charged. Alternatively, the extruded charges may merely be deposited as individual masses on plane plates. The molds may be formed by plates travelling with a conveyor, e.g., as an endless series.

It is preferred to discharge from the pump cylinder directly downwards past the discharge valve so as to avoid unnecessary bends or variations in direction of the extruded substance.

In order that the invention may be the more clearly understood, reference is hereinafter made to the accompanying drawings in which our method is described by way of example in relation to one form of apparatus according to the invention.

In the drawings, FIG. 1 shows partly in section an elevation of the apparatus, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 (a view on arrow A) show details of a cut-out control, and FIG. 4 (taken on arrow B) shows a cam means for operating the plunger, FIG. 5 illustrating a preferred modified form of-cam.

Referring to the drawings, the apparatus for delivering a pre-determined quantity of viscous sugar-confectionery syrup comprises a container 36 with a cylinder 37 and a plunger 38. The plunger, during the first part of its suction stroke when the ports 43 are still covered by the plunger, creates a partial vacuum in the cylinder, with the consequence that when the plunger, in completing its stroke, uncovers the said ports, the viscous sugarconfectionery syrup is suddenly drawn from the con tainer into the cylinder. The thus predetermined quantity of the said syrup is extruded under pressure through a nozzle 39 fitted with a spring-seated ball valve 40 during the discharge stroke of the plunger. The nozzle may bef'a screw component that may be removed for cleaning. The base of the container 36 is heated, e.g., by an electrical heating element 41 controlled by a thermostat and the peripheral wall of the container is surrounded by a heat retaining jacket 42, the intake of the viscous sugar-confectionery syrup into the cylinder being through the ports 43 in the cylinder wall directly from the container.

The plunger 38 is actuated by a lever 44 pivoted at 45 to an upright 46 of the frame of the apparatus. Intermediately of its ends the lever 44 is connected to a spring loaded push-pull rod 47 having link connection to a lever 48 pivoted at 49 to the frame of the apparatus and medially'provided with a follower 50 to the cam 26 fast on shaft 16. The rod 47 and the plunger rod may have slotted connection to the lever 48 so that the stroke of the plunger may be varied and means may be provided on the cylinder, such as additional rows of ports with a sleeve for closing those rows of ports not in use, so that the position of the operative ports may be varied to suit the adjusted variation in the stroke of the plunger. 1

A cut-out control of the plunger 38 may be provided in the form of a manually actuable cut-out control comprising a spring-loaded push-pull rod 52 arranged angularly to displace a radius arm 53 to rock a shaft 54 and thereby a forked end 55 of a bent arm 56 into and out of the path of a stop collar 57 on the push-pull rod 47 aforesaid, while locking means, e.g., a locking shoulder 58 and key hole slot 59 or comparable locking device are provided for locking said push-pull rod into release position.

Another form of cam 26 is shown in FIG. 5 this cam providing for a slow discharging stroke and a rapid suction stroke of the plunger.

Assuming the viscous sugar-confectionery syrup is of the butter-scotch type, this will have been heated to the large crack degree, viz., 310 F. and its temperature in the container may be controlled so that it is delivered at a temperature of the order of 205 to 210 F. If the plunger is reciprocated at a sufficient speed, e.g., 50 reciprocations per minute or more, the nozzle will be maintained at a sufficient temperature by the hot syrup, but the nozzle (and/or the externally projecting part of the pump) may be separately heated, e.g., by an electrical resistance element.

The inlet ports in the cylinder wall should be of ample dimenisons. By way of example, it is found that six equally spaced holes each of 7 diameter round the wall of the cylinder will suffice. These holes open directly into the container near the bottom thereof. A film of toffee syrup finds its way into the clearance between the plunger and the cylinder and produces a remarkably etfective seal. Inasmuch as the hot syrup also passes the discharge valve a very good seal is obtained by the valve on its seating, and it is found that a high degree of vacuum will be created in the cylinder. The hot syrup rapidly flows into and fills the cylinder when the plunger has moved on its suction stroke sufliciently to open the inlet ports. and these ports offer little 0bstruction to the flow direct from the bottom of the container. It is found that the cylinder will be filled whether the container be fully charged or not, even when the level of the syrup has fallen below the top of the pump.

An essential characteristic of the operation of the pump is that the volume of the cylinder swept by the plunger on its suction stroke is connected with the container to permit the viscous sugar-confectionery syrup to flow from the container to the cylinder only when a vacuum has been created. The said volume corresponds with the pre-determined quantity of the said syrup to be delivered. Despite the viscous nature of the said syrup a pump acting as aforesaid may be reciprocated as many as fifty times per minute and may even exceed 100 per minute.

In one example of delivering pre-determined quantities of viscous sugar-confectionery syrup in accordance with the present invention a battery of pumps, e.g., with an external cylinder diameter of A" may be arranged as a row and a succession of rows of molds, e.g., depressions in plates attached to a conveyor, may be fed intermittently under the pumps, each to receive the predetermined quantity. The plates, e.g., transverse plates each containing a number .of molds depressions corresponding to the number of pumps in the battery may be attached to an endless chain conveyor and if desired each mold may be constructed for ejection of the sweets from the molds. For example each mold may include an ejector or ejectors, as for example is referred to in our co-pending application No. 493,346 dated March 10, 1955, and now abandoned, and the ejectors may be operated by an inclined plane action to eject the sweets from the molds, conveniently when the molds have travelled round with the conveyor and are inverted in which case they can be ejected downwards and collected in a suitable receiver, if desired, by way of a chute.

What we claim is:

1. The method of depositing pre-determined measured quantities of viscous toffee confectionery syrup of the butter-scotch or like type in which the syrup has to be boiled to a temperature of at least 280 F. to take it beyond at least the small crack degree, wherein after such boiling the boiled syrup is charged into a container communicating with a measuring chamber by way of at least one opening submerged in a quantity of the hot syrup in the container, a vacuum is created in the said chamber and thereafter the hot syrup is caused suddenly to flow into and fill the chamber from the container, the hot syrup is then steadily extruded past a valve from the said chamber by a pressure member working out of contact with the wall of the said chamber but so that the syrup itself at the requisite temperature below 280 F. seals the gap between the pressure member and the said wall and enables the desired evacuation to take place and a measured quantity to be delivered, and the syrup in the container is maintained at the said requisite temperature by thermostatically controlled heating.

2. The method according to claim 1 in which the syrup is maintained in the container under such controlled temperature conditions that the syrup is discharged at temperatures of the order of from 205 to 210 F.

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